


brave new world

by emmerrr



Series: Only Fools Rush In [5]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Technically at least?, super minor injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 18:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12894636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmerrr/pseuds/emmerrr
Summary: The drive back to Henrietta from Singer’s Falls is as good as muscle memory for Ronan now, even in the dark. He barely even registers the journey sometimes, it’s that ingrained. Instinct takes over and all of a sudden, he’s back.Nine times out of ten however, ‘back’ ends up being St. Agnes, where Ronan finds himself stomping up the steps to Adam’s little apartment and knocking on the door. Even if it’s unintentional. Even if he’d meant to go back to Monmouth.Let it never be said that Ronan Lynch isn’t a glutton for punishment.





	brave new world

**Author's Note:**

> written to fill a tumblr prompt: patching up a wound.

The drive back to Henrietta from Singer’s Falls is as good as muscle memory for Ronan now, even in the dark. He barely even registers the journey sometimes, it’s that ingrained. Instinct takes over and all of a sudden, he’s back.

Nine times out of ten however, ‘back’ ends up being St. Agnes, where Ronan finds himself stomping up the steps to Adam’s little apartment and knocking on the door. Even if it’s unintentional. Even if he’d meant to go back to Monmouth.

Let it never be said that Ronan Lynch isn’t a glutton for punishment.

This time when Adam opens the door he’s clearly not long back from Boyd’s as he’s still wearing his coveralls, and he doesn’t so much as bat an eye to find Ronan outside.

Because he knows, Ronan thinks. Of course he knows. He’s smart. And Ronan’s been edging out of subtlety for a while now anyway.

Testing the waters, as it were.

But the point is, Adam’s not surprised to see Ronan, and in fact he almost smiles as he jerks his head to indicate Ronan can come in, then turns back into the apartment. Ronan steps over the threshold and shuts the door behind him.

“You been at the Barns?” Adam asks.

“Yeah.”

“Any progress?”

Ronan shakes his head. He’s got a barn full of still sleeping dream-cows, and it’s a sore subject, and he doesn’t really want to talk about it.

Adam just nods in understanding and starts to wearily peel out of his coveralls.

“Fuck, Parrish,” Ronan says once Adam’s got the left sleeve off. “Your arm, it’s bleeding. The fuck d’you do?”

Adam frowns, then tilts his arm around until he can see what Ronan sees; running from just under his elbow to halfway down his forearm is a thin cut that is trickling blood. Not a lot, but it’s still there.

“Ah fuck, I forgot about that,” Adam says with a groan. “I caught it on the corner of a table at work but it didn’t seem bad and I just left it, it was just a scratch. I must have caught it again while I was working and not realised.”

He wipes at it with his fingers ineffectually then breaks off into a laugh that is utterly devoid of humour. “I don’t even have any bandaids. Never got round to stocking up on first-aid stuff after I moved in here.”

“Parrish, stop doing that, you’re just spreading blood around and it’s gross,” Ronan says, ignoring the glare Adam levels at him. “I think I have bandaids in the car, so you go and shower and clean your cut a little and when you’re out I’ll patch it up for you.”

Adam hesitates, then nods. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

He disappears into the bathroom and Ronan heads back out into the night. A perfunctory search through his glove compartment tells him that there aren’t actually any bandaids in there. Luckily, there’s a 24-hour convenience store around the corner, and if Ronan’s quick, he might even make it back before Adam’s out the shower.

He picks up the kind of bandaids that are on a roll so he can cut it to size, and he also grabs a tube of antiseptic gel. Then at the checkout counter he grabs a couple of chocolate bars, just because they’re there, and Adam looks hungry.

Fortunately, Ronan does make it back before Adam gets out of the bathroom, albeit only by the merest of minutes. Adam’s changed into thin and worn PJ bottoms and a pale blue t-shirt, and is holding his arm out gingerly. 

He sits cross-legged on his mattress then looks at Ronan expectantly. Ronan takes the hint, kicks his shoes off, and sits opposite. He drops his purchases in between them then motions for Adam to hold his arm up so Ronan can see.

“It’s just about stopped bleeding, but you’ll still need a bandaid on it or you’ll just catch it again while you sleep,” he says, but Adam hardly seems to be listening. He’s eyeing Ronan’s pile of goodies with deep suspicion.

“So you just  _happened_  to have all this stuff in your car?”

“Sure,” Ronan says, but because he doesn’t lie, he grins and adds, “It was in my car for the drive back from the store to here.”

“Ronan,” Adam says with a sigh.

“It’s fine, Adam, it’s useful for me to have anyway, I’m always getting scuffed up as it is. I’ll get plenty of fucking use out of it all.”

Adam looks like he wants to argue, but then he shrugs. “That’s true, I guess. The chocolate I’ll pay you back for, though.”

“You fucking better, Parrish, I’ve already made a note of it in my debts book.  _Parrish owes me one chocolate bar_. I wrote it in red. Underlined.”

“Asshole,” Adam says, but he’s smiling, and everything in the world is bright and shiny again.

Ronan grabs a pair of scissors off Adam’s desk then cuts the bandaid to size. With no small amount of gentleness, he grips Adam’s wrist to keep his arm steady and presses the bandaid into place. He desperately tries not to think about the warmth of Adam’s skin, how it feels like his own hands are burning where they’re touching. Their heads are bowed close together, and Ronan holds on much longer than necessary, after the bandaid is well and truly in place.

But finally, he lets go.

“Does it hurt?” His voice comes out rough, hoarse. He’s so see-through, he can barely stand it.

“A little,” Adam says, and his voice is just as rough. He clears his throat. “It’s not bad.”

“Good. That’s good,” Ronan says lamely. “Take that off in the morning, put some of this antiseptic shit on then just let it air. Should be fine.”

“Should be,” Adam agrees. “Thank you.”

A silence befalls them and Ronan doesn’t know how to fill it, so he picks up his chocolate bar, opens it, and starts to eat. Adam follows suit, and by the time they’ve both finished, the slightly charged air has dissipated.

“Oh  _fuck_ ,” Adam says as he throws away his and Ronan’s trash. “I’ve just realised that when I take this bandaid off it’s gonna rip all my arm-hair off. It’s gonna hurt more than getting the cut did.”

Ronan looks up gleefully. “Let me do it, Parrish. It’ll hurt less if  _I_ do it.”

“How’d you figure?”

Ronan shrugs. “It’s just science. Come on, you should know that.”

Adam shakes his head fondly. “That’s not… that’s not how science works. But okay. You get to rip my bandaid off.”

Adam grabs his backpack while he’s on his feet and carries it back over to his mattress. “Now,” he says, pulling out a history textbook. “Homework time.”

“Honestly just looking at that fucking thing bores me to tears.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you not here for a study session?”

Ronan snorts. “Hilarious, Parrish.”

The corner of Adam’s mouth quirks, and Ronan hates that he’s so attuned to the gesture. To every single Adam Parrish gesture. 

“Why else would you be here if not to help me with my homework?” Adam asks innocently, because he’s sort of a little shit, and his pale eyebrows raise slightly.

It’s a challenge Ronan’s not sure he’s quite ready to rise to.

“You’ve got me there, Parrish. Why else?”

Adam smirks and returns his attention to his books. And Ronan is now sure that Adam knows  _exactly_ what Ronan’s doing here. For once, the thought excites rather than frightens him.

It’s a brave new world.


End file.
